Introduction

On March 29th, as part of the Supporting the Emergence of Active Philanthropists in Nigeria (SEAPIN) program, participants engaged in a session led by Prof. Michael Moody from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, Indianapolis, on “Why focus on generating and stewarding wealth for multi-generational impact?”

Global philanthropy has entered a period of significant transition. According to Prof. Michael Moody’s framing, the sector is no longer operating under the old assumptions that shaped family giving for decades. Instead, philanthropy is being reshaped by three converging forces: a historic transfer of wealth across generations, the emergence of new giving vehicles and practices, and the rising influence of younger donors who want impact, speed, and participation rather than legacy structures alone.

For Africa, this shift is especially consequential. The continent is not just observing global change; it is entering a moment in which private wealth, family enterprise, diaspora capital, and younger generations of inheritors could redefine what long-term social impact looks like. The core issue is no longer simply whether wealthy families will give. It is whether they will build systems to preserve, govern, deploy, and renew that giving across generations.

Family Philanthropy Is Bigger Than Formal Foundations

One of the speaker’s most useful starting points is his definition of family philanthropy. He argues that family philanthropy should not be reduced to a formal foundation. Rather, it includes any philanthropic effort shaped by “family-ness”: the source of wealth, family intent, family governance, and the involvement of multiple generations in decision-making. In that sense, much of the world’s philanthropy is already family philanthropy, whether formal or informal.

That distinction matters for Africa. Many African families do not yet operate through highly formalized philanthropic vehicles, but they already practice philanthropy through family businesses, informal giving, community obligations, faith traditions, and family-led support systems. Moody’s framing suggests that these should not be seen as “pre-philanthropic” or lesser forms of giving. They are the foundation from which more structured, durable, and strategic models emerge.

The implication is important: Africa does not need to imitate Western philanthropic institutions mechanically. It can build from its own traditions of kinship, responsibility, and communal stewardship while strengthening governance, continuity, and impact measurement.

A New Golden Age of Philanthropy Is Emerging

Moody describes the present moment as a “new golden age” of philanthropy. What defines it is not only the scale of wealth but also the degree of disruption. Large fortunes are being created and transferred. Old rules are being questioned. New tools are proliferating. Donors are experimenting more aggressively with how they give, how they partner, and how they measure value.

This matters for Africa because wealth creation on the continent have expanded, even if philanthropy has not yet matured at the same pace institutionally. If this is a new golden age globally, then African families are being presented with a narrow strategic window: they can either remain episodic givers, or they can build enduring philanthropic architectures that can outlast founders and compound impact over time.

The real question, then, is not generosity. It is stewardship.

The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Raises a Governance Question

A major pillar of the session is the historic intergenerational transfer of wealth. Moody notes that wealth is moving at an unprecedented scale across generations and that this transfer makes generational dynamics central to the future of philanthropy. The people inheriting wealth will become some of the most significant donors the world has seen.

For Africans, this has several implications.

First, succession can no longer be treated as a private family issue detached from social impact. If wealth transitions without values, structures, and a clear philanthropic purpose, families may preserve assets but lose mission.

Second, next-generation engagement must begin before inheritance is activated. If younger family members are invited only after decisions, institutions, and patterns are fixed, they are more likely to disengage or radically break from the legacy.

Third, families need to treat philanthropy not as a side activity funded after wealth is made, but as part of how wealth itself is governed across generations.

In practical terms, African family businesses, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth households need to think in terms of continuity vehicles, governance rules, investment philosophy, mission definition, and stewardship education. Moody’s point is clear: when wealth transfer accelerates, philanthropy becomes a question of institutional design, not sentiment.

The Vehicle of Giving Is Changing

Another major theme in the session is that the old philanthropic norm, which involved creating a foundation and operating through grant-making, is no longer dominant. Moody points to the rise of donor-advised funds, flexible philanthropic LLC-type structures, trust-based philanthropy, effective altruism, consumer-driven giving models, ESG-oriented investing, and impact investing. Together, these developments signal that philanthropy is becoming structurally more diverse and strategically more fluid.

His explanation of donor-advised funds is particularly relevant. He describes them as something like a “charitable checking account,” where a donor places capital with a host institution, which manages the funds while the donor advises on distribution. He contrasts this with a traditional foundation, where a family creates and governs its own institution.

For Africa, the key lesson is broader than donor-advised funds themselves. It is that philanthropic infrastructure matters. Where suitable giving vehicles do not exist locally, wealth tends either to remain idle, move offshore, or be distributed informally without continuity. Where vehicles do exist, families are better able to invest, preserve, and channel capital strategically.

This creates a continent-level opportunity:

African financial institutions, wealth managers, family offices, and philanthropic intermediaries can help build locally relevant structures for giving, endowment management, and social investment. Without those vehicles, African philanthropy will struggle to move from generosity to permanence.

Philanthropy Is Blurring with Investment, Consumption, and Enterprise

One of Moody’s most significant observations is that philanthropy is no longer confined to charitable grants. Younger donors increasingly believe they can “do good” through multiple channels: how they invest, what they buy, the companies they build, the causes they advocate for, and the communities they organize. He points to ESG investing, impact investing, and cause-linked consumer choices as evidence that the boundaries between philanthropy, business, and finance are becoming more porous.

For Africa, this is a powerful shift. It aligns closely with the continent’s entrepreneurial reality. Many African wealthy families are not heirs to old industrial fortunes in the classic Western sense; they are first- or second-generation builders whose capital is still deeply tied to enterprise. That means the future of African philanthropy may not rest only in grant-making institutions, but also in how families use operating businesses, investment portfolios, family offices, and private capital to advance social outcomes.

The implication is clear: African philanthropy should not artificially separate wealth creation from impact creation. The stronger model could be one where giving, investing, enterprise, and legacy are designed together.

Critique of Philanthropy Is Rising, and That Is Healthy

Moody also emphasizes that philanthropy is facing more scrutiny than ever. Critiques around elite power, accountability, top-down agendas, and the relationship between private giving and public responsibility are gaining force globally. His position is not that philanthropy should be abandoned, but that it should be reformed rather than dismissed wholesale.

This is especially relevant for Africa. On the continent, philanthropy cannot afford to imitate opaque models that already attract criticism elsewhere. If African philanthropy is to earn legitimacy, it must be visibly accountable, context-sensitive, and rooted in listening rather than paternalism.

That means African philanthropists and philanthropic institutions will increasingly need to answer questions such as:

Who defines the problem?

Who holds decision-making power?

How are communities heard?

What evidence of impact exists?

How transparent is the use of capital?

In this sense, the critique of philanthropy is not a threat to Africa’s philanthropic future. It is an invitation to build better from the start.

The Next Generation Is Not Waiting

Perhaps the most important section of the session concerns younger donors. Moody argues that millennials and Gen Z are not simply inheritors of old systems; they are reshaping philanthropy itself. They are less loyal to institutions, more loyal to causes, more interested in measurable impact, more willing to collaborate with peers, and more open to using multiple tools—giving, investing, activism, consumption, and technology—to produce change.

He makes a particularly striking point: younger donors do not see themselves as the “coming generation.” They see themselves as the “now generation.” They do not want to wait passively at the edges of family giving. They want a real voice, real responsibility, and visible impact. They want to know what their money will do, how it will move the needle, and why a particular institution deserves trust.

For Africans, this has deep implications.

Many African wealth holders are still founder-led. Authority is concentrated. Decisions are often relational, private, and seniority-driven. But the next generation increasingly operates differently. They are more global in exposure, more networked, more values-explicit, and often more willing to question inherited assumptions. If older generations interpret this only as rebellion, they will miss the opportunity. What Moody suggests is that this is not a rejection of philanthropy. It is a demand for philanthropy that is more participatory, evidence-driven, and aligned with personal values.

What Is Not Changing: Values Still Matter

Despite all the disruption, Moody is careful to note what remains constant. Families still give because of values, obligation, identity, conviction, religion, and the desire to make a difference. Younger generations may want new methods, but they are not abandoning meaning. In fact, they remain strongly mission-driven. They often inherit core values from parents and grandparents, even when they want to express them differently.

This is a crucial point for Africa.

African philanthropy is already deeply values-based. Faith, kinship, social responsibility, dignity, and communal memory are strong drivers of giving. The challenge is not to preserve values against change. It is to translate those values into structures that younger generations can trust, participate in, and scale.

The future, then, is not a contest between tradition and innovation. It is a negotiation between inherited purpose and new methods.

What African Families Should Do Now

Moody’s practical guidance on engaging the next generation is highly relevant. He advises families to start early, move younger members beyond the symbolic “kids’ table,” welcome difference, engage shared values explicitly, make impact visible, encourage hands-on involvement, and create learning pathways across generations.

Applied to Africa, this suggests a concrete agenda.

African philanthropic families need to begin succession and stewardship conversations early. They need to expose younger members to real decisions, not ceremonial participation. They need to define the family’s impact thesis clearly: what does the family want to change, and why? They need to build governance processes that allow differences without fragmentation. And they need to consider vehicles such as a foundation, endowment, donor-advised mechanism, family office integration, or hybrid structures that suit their context and can preserve both capital and mission.

They also need to recognize that the next generation brings assets beyond money: networks, new knowledge, technological fluency, peer collaboration, and a stronger instinct for alignment between values and assets. Moody notes that younger donors want to bring their time, talent, and ties, not just their names or eventual inheritance.

That is not a threat to legacy. It is how legacy survives.

Conclusion

Prof. Michael Moody’s session points to a simple but powerful truth: the future of philanthropy will be shaped less by how much wealth exists than by how well that wealth is stewarded across generations. The world is in a moment of wealth transfer, institutional experimentation, rising critique, and generational change. Philanthropy is becoming more flexible, more integrated with finance and enterprise, and more demanding of transparency and impact.

For Africa, the stakes are unusually high. The continent has the opportunity to build philanthropic systems that are locally grounded, values-driven, structurally robust, and intergenerationally resilient. But that requires a shift from episodic generosity to institutional stewardship; from founder dependence to family governance; from symbolic inclusion of younger members to real power-sharing; and from charity alone to a broader architecture of impact that includes giving, investing, and enterprise.

The central implication is this: if African families want wealth to produce lasting social value, they must treat next-generation engagement not as a courtesy, but as a strategic necessity.